In 1994, nearly a million Tutsis as well as thousands of moderate Hutus who tried to protect them were brutally massacred in Rwanda.

As First Lady, Hillary Clinton was apparently directly responsible for all of the innovations and successes of the Clinton administration but none of its or ethical lapses or mistakes; at least, that’s what one is supposed to conclude after watching Hillary’s interview with George Stephanopoulus on which aired on ABC’s This Week on Sunday morning.

I find it rather revealing the fact that ABC would assign Stephanopoulus to interview the woman who is her former boss’s wife. As the bio on the ABC News website itself notes, “Prior to joining ABC News, Stephanopoulos served in the Clinton administration as the senior advisor to the president for policy and strategy.” The interview on This Week is part and parcel of a national news media establishment that has given Hillary a pass, declining almost every opportunity to examine Hillary’s role in the Clinton administration; but it can hardly be a surprise that the corporate media (with rare exceptions) are reluctant to examine the record of the most corporate of the Democratic presidential candidates.

It was also no surprise that Stephanopoulus threw his old boss’s wife softballs, avoiding any questions that might cause Hillary any embarassment over her role in her husband’s administration. The closest that Stephanopoulus came to doing his job as the anchor of ‘This Week’ and ABC News’ chief Washington correspondent was when he asked the former First Lady about her role in the Rwanda genocide. Read more…

It’s all coming down to the wire… Who’s gonna end up melting in the post-primary slush, eh?

Today’s new poll from the L.A. Times & Bloomberg just confirms what you probably know. The Presidential primaries are getting closer than ever. Hillary’s strongest (just barely) in Iowa, but Obama’s surged ahead in New Hampshire. Romney’s top dog in the Granite State, but it’s all about Huckabee in Iowa. For now.

If there was any doubt that it’s close, the fact that Clinton, Obama, Edwards, McCain and Romney (lashing out directly at Huckabee and McCain) have all unveiled new TV ads in Iowa and New Hampshire today says plenty. The NY Times has them all covered.

Read more…

Hillary Clinton glad-handing Pervez Musharraf

The assassination of Benazir Bhutto on Thursday has focused world attention on the growing crisis in Pakistan. The violent terrorist attack on the former prime minister also prompted presidential candidates to weigh in on the assassination, U.S. bilateral relations with Pakistan, and terrorism.

Not surprisingly, each of the candidates tried to spin the event to his/her advantage, with Hillary Clinton declaring, “I have known Benazir Bhutto for more than 12 years; she’s someone whom I was honored to visit as first lady when she was prime minister.”

But what Hillary did not mention was the role that the Clinton administration played in the military coup that brought Pervez Musharraf to power in 1999. Read more…

Years ago, I read somewhere jazz great Miles Davis was the king of silence. The pretty notes from his trumpet were just as important as the hush that separated them. Quiet, the only thing all cranky librarians love, is in short supply during a political campaign. Everybody is yapping, from the politicians who want our votes, the holier than thou writers who think we are the pulse of democracy, to voters convinced a pol holding a town hall meeting can shine a little light in their darkness.

Take this for example. John McCain is surging in the polls, thinking upset, but in New Hampshire he gets laid out by a question from a gentleman who suffered a serious brain injury 20 years ago and wants to end his life.

Read more…

The attention being paid to Pakistan this week made me wonder what the situation is for gays in Pakistan.

A few months ago, I saw Jihad for Love, the documentary on being gay and Muslim, which included scenes of a hot underground drag party in Pakistan. It was interesting, because I think people tend to stereotype Muslim countries as all being the same - people think that if they kill gay people in Iran, then they likely kill gay people in every Muslim country.

But just as the laws in liberal Sweden are very different from the conservative United States, laws and living in the Islamic world can likewise vary.

Read more…

 Joe Biden and Bill Richardson have actual foreign policy experience.

When it comes to the crisis in Pakistan, The Chicago Tribune reminds us that we have a couple Democrats on the slate who have real foreign policy experience: Joe Biden and Bill Richardson.

Both Biden and Richardson are so far down in most polls that reporters - and hence bloggers, who rely on reporters to give us news to riff on - tend to ignore them.

But we shouldn’t. Says the Tribune:

Read more…